Snapshots of Endurance
by TheGoddamazon
Summary: A vignette of snapshots into the strange relationship between Sekhmet and his ward, Ansequia.


**Author's Note:** This is something I decided to write while laying in bed one night, watching the witching hour go by. A snapshot of Ansequia and Sekhmet's relationship…as weird and misunderstood as it is.

**Snapshots of Endurance**

**By Shadovar**

She is a small child, shivering before their master, but not from fear. She complains of the cold, and that she wants a hot bath. The master punishes her immediately, stating that she will receive what she wants if she swears her loyalty. She asks if she will receive sweet treats. The master says she will. She consents and is remanded to the Venom Lord's care.

It is autumn in the mortal realm, but time does not move in the Nether Realm. It is ageless, endless, timeless, and beautiful. People are seduced here on a whim, weak-willed and foolish, they sell their very souls away for dreams that they are not even sure they truly want. The girl trains in the courtyard while the Venom Lord watches. She makes a mistake, and is quickly punished. She hates the Venom Lord, and he does not care.

It has been four months, and the girl has shown improvement in combat, but a decline in temperament. She lashes out at her opponents mercilessly. The Venom Lord normally applauds such cruelty, but he has noticed physical changes in the girl that he brings to the master's attention. The master tells him to hone this budding cruelty, and dismisses him. The others laugh at him, and ask if he enjoys babysitting a bastard. The Venom Lord does not retaliate.

Two hundred years have passed in the mortal realm, but the Nether Realm remains the same. She is not a girl anymore, but a woman. The Venom Lord watches as she spars with the heir of Kaos, a fellow abducted child. The two are nimble and graceful in their swordplay, and the bastard has learned all the Venom Lord saw fit to teach her. Kaos' air calls down the wrath of the heavens, and the bastard is defeated. It is always like this, until one day, the bastard snaps.

It is winter in the mortal realm, but the Nether Realm is unchanged. There is blood all over the courtyard. The Venom Lord is summoned to investigate. Crouched in a steaming pile of gore is a creature unlike anything the Venom Lord has ever seen. It is large and black, with multiple-jointed limbs, and pointed ears. There is a wide slash in the face filled with serrated fangs. Its face is stained with blood and bits of bone and flesh are caught in the spaces. A long tongue lolls out of its mouth to lick at the blood it can reach. The Venom Lord orders the creature killed, but it strikes first. The soldiers are no match for it. It is large, strong, and hungry. It comes for the Venom Lord, and he strikes it down with his blade. It changes form. It is the bastard, and she had eaten one of the master's trusted generals.

It is dark, and there is a mewling in the umbra. Wet sucking noises echo off the stone walls, and there is a sound like flesh tearing, and then a cry of anguish. The Lord of Darkness sharpens his claws on a subordinate, and then takes what he wants. The last of innocence dies in the bowels of the Nether Realm.

It is peaceful in the Nether Realm, and the Venom Lord is pleased with the day's work. He retreats to his bedchamber and finds a tangled and bloody mess at his door. He nudges it aside with his foot and reveals the bastard. She has been punished for her insubordination. Her beauty is gone, her innocence is gone, and in its place is a monster. It is the monster the master said to create. The Venom Lord carries her into his chamber. He tends to her, and reminds her why she is being punished.

It is winter in the mortal realm, five hundred years have passed, and the bastard is missing. The Nether Realm echoes with the master's rage. He orders her tracked down and brought back at all costs. The Venom Lord and the Dark Lord are dispatched to find it. They return after twenty years of searching. It appears as if Kaos has destroyed their bastard. A decade goes by, and the bastard is returned. She is unharmed, and the master punishes her again. This time he does it himself. The bastard bears it grimly. The Venom Lord notices the change in his former ward. She does not speak of what passed between herself and the hated monk.

The time goes by, and the Nether Realm waits. The master is furious as the bastard is causing trouble. The bastard is speaking of new ideas, of freedom, of defying the master. The master has no choice, because the bastard cannot be controlled. He calls for the priest, and has her locked in a tower. The Venom Lord does not approve of this, but he cannot defy the master. The bastard is sealed away forevermore, taking the Venom Lord's humanity with her.

A thousand years pass, the Nether Realm is the same. The tower that holds the bastard is quiet, watched by sentries constantly. The master has forgotten about the bastard, but he has new ambitions. He orders his Lords into the mortal realm. It is time to strike. The Venom Lord feels a nagging reluctance in his breast. He does not question the master, but he wonders.

A month passes, and the Cruel Lord runs into Kaos. He tries to defy the master and escape, as the bastard did. The master has him imprisoned, and the Venom Lord begins to understand that it is the monk's fault. He hopes the monk crosses his path so he can destroy him, as he destroyed his beloved ward. That day does not come. The monk fights the master, the monk dies, but the monk's wards come. There are five that the master wants, but the other five are to be slain on sight. The Venom Lord poisons one, but the master calls him and the other Lords back. Then there is darkness.

He hears a mournful cry in the darkness, and a deafening roar. He feels a cadence in his chest. It is his heart. He hears a voice in his head, crying for him. It is angry, he is angry. The master has betrayed them. The master would kill them if it suited him. The Venom Lord tries to rebel, but is punished by the heir of Kaos.

Months pass, and the master is defeated. The bastard's tower is in ruins, and the bastard is out. She is angry, she is hurt, and the Venom Lord takes her away. She tells him everything, he tells her to forget it all. She asks him how. They make love for the first time. It is not love. It is violence, reconciliation, and rebirth. His armored hands bruise her. She does not stop him. His poison nearly kills her, but she does not care. He withdraws his poison, and she is silent. The bastard wants to leave the Nether Realm. The Venom Lord does not stop her.

They are a couple. The auburn-haired woman insists they stay with her. The bastard does not like it at first, but begins to fall in love with humanity, and with the auburn-haired woman's kindness. The Venom Lord deigns to remain in the Nether Realm. The bastard does not like this, but she relents. He visits often. They make love often. They understand that the master no longer holds sway over them. They speak freely. She winces when he makes sudden moves. The Venom Lord asks her what the master did to mar her beauty. She tells him the Lord of Darkness did this to her face and body. They make love again. Her scars are still there. She wants to remember, he wants to forget.

They endure. They survive.

**Ending Note:** Well, I tried to branch away from my comfort zone in terms of writing style. I wanted to keep it succinct and simplistic but at the same time, paint a picture (or more accurately, portray snapshots) of Sekhmet and Ansequia's weird relationship. I hope you guys enjoy it. The original version of this story ran out of steam.


End file.
